Blue Ridge Parkway Milepost 238.5 – 241: Doughton Park Visitor Information Station and Park Store, and Brinegar Cabin
Renew your senses amid this landscape of open meadows. Doughton Park is one of the best places along the Blue Ridge Parkway to view white-tailed deer, raccoons, red and grey foxes, and bobcats.
Flowers burst on the scene in late spring and create a spectacular show as flame azalea and rhododendron bloom.
The Brinegar Cabin, craft demonstrations, and diverse hiking options make Doughton Park a must-experience destination along the Parkway. This area has one of the Parkway’s larger campgrounds, a popular picnic area and more than 30 miles of hiking trails that access forested slopes, streams and backcountry in Basin Cove. The Cove is popular for fly-fishing, horseback riding (Grassy Gap Fire Road) and backcountry camping.
What to Do
- Explore the Brinegar Cabin to see craft demonstrations or hike into Basin Cove to view the Caudill Family Homestead
- Enjoy a short hike at Fodder Stack Trail, or test your endurance on the strenuous 7.5-mile Bluff Mountain Trail – see area map below
- Visit the nearby Northwest Trading Post at Milepost 258, featuring a variety of craft items and souvenirs
- Camp under the stars and enjoy ranger talks during the summer season
- Enjoy a meal at the historic Bluffs Restaurant – open seasonally
- Visitor information station, picnic area, restrooms and campground – open seasonally
ADA Accessibility
- picnic area is wheelchair accessible with assistance
- restrooms are wheelchair accessible with assistance
- some interpretive programs are wheelchair accessible with assistance
- exhibits are wheelchair accessible with assistance
- campground is wheelchair accessible with assistance
- visitor information station is wheelchair accessible
- Bluffs Restaurant is wheelchair accessible
Camping
There are 110 tent sites, 25 RV sites, restrooms, and a campfire circle at this campground.
Reservations can be made for portions of this campground online at www.recreation.gov or by calling 1-877-444-6777. Information related to backcountry camping on the Blue Ridge Parkway is available on the park website.
To the west, you will find facilities including the popular Bluffs Restaurant which reopened in August of 2020. To the east, the 24-room Bluffs Lodge remains closed. There is also an information center and picnic area at Doughton Park. For information call (336) 372-8568.
Also to the east is Wildcat Rocks Overlook. It, like the lodge, is on the left fork of the road. A short trail leads up to the overlook where a sign describes the homestead of Martin Caudill, which can be seen in the valley below the overlook.
Area hikes include: Bluff Mountain, and Fodder Stack Trails. See map below for details.
Area historic buildings include: Brinegar and Caudill Cabins.
Highlights
- Campground
- Nearby trails
- Bluffs Lodge (241.1) – CURRENTLY CLOSED
- Bluffs Restaurant – open seasonally
- Wildcat Rocks Overlook
